From Mr E to Mr Z
by JaceDLark
Summary: After doing his time and paying his dues, the Riddler faked his own death. Now in the guise of Theodore Kerr, Teddy is the successful owner/manager of Gotham's best monthly crossword publication. When Dick Grayson wins his monthly competition he meets the man and sparks begin to fly but will their fledgling romance survive when their pasts come to light? SLASH. Possible OOC.
1. The Birth of Mr Z

G'day!

Here's another plot bunny that demanded I get back to work! But before that, here's the usual stuff so I don't have to repeat it.

1) I do not any of these characters or there would be much more slash out there.

2) And speaking of slash... This is all about guy on guy. Don't like, don't read, don't flame. It's as easy as that.

3) I'm Australian. My words may be spelt differently to you. I will not change them to suit you. Also, my knowledge of Americanisms is seriously lacking. I might get things wrong and I would love it if you could tell me. Eg - Jello in America is called Jelly here, thus Jelly in America is called Jam. Confused yet? Now you understand my dilemmas.

4) I don't have a beta. All mistakes (which I hope to keep to a minimum) are mine. Feedback, con crit and reviews are always welcome. How else can I get better if no one tells me?

I hope you like it and I'm trying to add three new chapters each week. I would love it if someone out there can conquer the Tease. Confused? You'll find out at the end of the chapter!

Cheers, Jace.

* * *

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter One - The Birth of Mr Z_

Faking his own death had been ridiculously easy. Absolute child's play for the smartest man in Gotham. Edward Nygma and the Riddler were no more. He still enjoyed a good riddle or two but his super villainous days of the past were at an end.

Naturally, the only challenge was to fool the Dark Knight. The man would obviously doubt a simple motor vehicle accident so the Riddler had to make it extremely convincing. He did. Seven years he'd been living his new life and he was still yet to run into the Batman. There were two possible explanations. One, he'd actually managed to fool Gotham's greatest detective or two, he was no longer interested in the Riddler's activities since the Prince of Puzzles wasn't perpetrating crimes anymore. In his opinion, option two was definitely the most likely.

Which was a shame. The Dark Knight was pretty much the only other intelligent being in the whole of Gotham. It had taken a few years of introspection for the Riddler to realise that the majority of his crimes were really a cry for Batman's attention. That way he could verbally spar with someone who could actually keep up with him without stumbling over his extensive vocabulary. Although he loathed to admit it, this was the difficult part of remaining anonymous. A small fragment of him yearned to garner his attention and it was a daily battle to quash that particular feeling. Then again, he'd served his time in Blackgate (bored out of his mind) and decided it would be a tragedy if his brilliance was once again incarcerated.

Originally he'd planned to return to lab work but decided against it so he'd made a new career for himself. It had taken a few years of hard work for Mr Z's Variety Puzzles to become the success that it had today. He was (still) the sole owner and employee of the monthly crossword puzzle franchise. Let's face it, it's not like creating word problems was a difficult challenge after facing the Batman on an almost weekly basis.

There were still aspects of himself that had carried over from his previous life. He was still hardworking, although this was now guided in a more positive direction. His intellect was still vastly superior to everyone else's which also meant he was pretty much a loner. The Batman was virtually the only person who could ever claim to understand him with any degree of success and since he was loathed by the detective and smarter than everyone else, he'd avoided forming any deeper connections since.

The other main link to his past was his newly fashioned name. Theodore Zerr. It made him smile, classic Ridder. Teaser (T Zerr) is another word for riddle, so that part matched up extremely well and Teddy rhymes with Eddie. That way he was less likely to miss someone calling it out (not that it ever really was since who actually knew him?) and unwittingly draw attention to the fact that it wasn't his original name.

Teddy rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He'd been daydreaming again, dredging up memories from the past. He refocussed his attention on the computer screen and quickly added the last twenty-seven words to his cryptic crossword. It was a fine balancing act, creating the puzzles easy enough that any old idiot would be able to do at least half, while making the rest challenging enough to keep him from scratching his eyes out.

When he realised the Terrible Tease was all that remained of the next issue, Teddy smiled absently to himself as he stood and stumbled to his fridge. He always left this one for last and it was the reason that his books sold so well. The simple looking crossword was anything but. Unlike regular crosswords, this one didn't have clues printed next to it under neat columns of across and down. They could be found scattered on the other pages, hidden in pictures, encoded in random blurbs and some couldn't be solved until other puzzles in the book were completed.

Really, it was the masterpiece of each issue and it was the only puzzle that he awarded prizes for. To date it hadn't yet been completed. After every issue, Teddy found himself chuckling in amusement at some of the answers that had clearly been invented just so whoever it was could send it in. There was a hall of fame on his website where Sylvia Moore still held the top spot with a completion rate of fifty-nine percent. Every month, he sent the eighty-one year old woman a bouquet of flowers (making sure they weren't some of Ivy's) and a bottle of wine. She'd remained in the top spot for thirty-seven months in succession.

Teddy would also post a complete solver's guide to the Tease on his website at the conclusion of the competition period so that everyone could see how it all fit together. There was an active blog dedicated to the answers where people crowed about how close they were to this one and if only they had blah, blah, blah. It was hilarious to browse as they often cussed him out while still praising him to the rafters for his genius. Reading the blog always cheered him up when he was feeling down.

Teddy grabbed the milk and took a quick swig from the carton before putting it on the counter. He selected some cereal and poured it into a bowl before taking the two items to his dining table. The success of his business allowed him to live in a modest two bedroom house situated in one of the nicer suburbs of Gotham. He could have bought somewhere more exclusive but that would only make him a target for the villains he was once associated with.

A quick visit to his mailbox later, he began the task of reading the Tease entries as he ate his breakfast. Today there were only seventeen; a light day. The second one had him snorting into his Lucky Charms. Only three words were answered and the rest was left blank. All three were completely wrong. What an absolute waste of postage. That wasn't the only one that caused him to almost kill himself on his cereal.

Unlike the previous entries, the first four words of the second-to-last entry were actually correct. Make that eight, twelve, sixteen... All twenty across words were right! His spoon was still raised halfway to his mouth, milk and charms dripping steadily into his lap but the genius paid no heed as he scanned the downs to realise that for the first time ever, someone out there had managed to complete his exceptionally difficult puzzle.

It was then that Teddy realised he'd made a mess of his bathrobe and gave his breakfast up as a lost cause. He cleaned up the table and was on the way to having a shower when he realised that he'd not paid the slightest attention to who had sent the entry in. The splattered robe was dumped into the laundry pile and he walked back to the table. The name there surprised him. Richard Grayson from Blüdhaven.

As he showered, the genius remembered the first adopted child of the multimillionaire Bruce Wayne. He'd grown up in the circus before his parents were killed. The trapeze if he wasn't mistaken. Why would a wealthy socialite's son move to Blüdhaven, where the crime rate was even worse than Gotham? Now there's a real teaser.

Grayson would have been a child when Teddy was the Riddler and the small flare of hope in his stomach died. He'd thought for sure that the only person who could finish the Tease would be Batman. Cleary this was not the case. It would have been amazing to meet the man, to see if he'd be recognised as his former self. To talk to the Batman without needing to threaten an entire city and without being knocked out, tied up or outclassed in some other way.

However, this Richard Grayson was definitely worth a look. He obviously had a great set of brains and he needed to give him the one thousand dollar prize for cracking the Tease. Of course, with Bruce as his guardian, the money was probably not necessary but there was no way Teddy Zerr would wimp out and sulk because someone actually displayed a glimmer of intelligence. For the first time since his rebirth, Teddy was truly excited.

Teddy showered and dressed in one of his nice red shirts and a pair of dark blue jeans. His days of donning green were unfortunately long gone. He was certain he'd be much more likely to be caught out if he wore the colour that made his eyes pop so he limited himself to luridly green underwear to make up for it. The only other green garment he owned was his original costume. It and the cane were the only nostalgic items he'd retained from his former life and he glanced at them fondly in the closet before closing the door.

After completing the rest of his hygiene routine, Teddy made his first stop of the day at the Bank of Gotham where he withdrew one thousand dollars from his Business account in five dollar bills. It barely made a dent in his takings so far so he hardly felt bad about it. He then raided a stationery store for some cardboard, a fuck ton of thumbtacks, a black marker and some clear cellophane.

Teddy returned to his house and curbed his want to draw a large question mark on the cardboard and instead drew the word 'Congratulations!' in large print. He then began the laborious task of pinning each fiver to the cardboard in an artful way that displayed the majority of the lettering and still showed every note. He was pleased with the end result and wrapped the prize in the cellophane so that if one or two of the notes managed to fall off, it would still remain with the prize. The last thing he needed was a lawsuit due to negligence of fifteen dollars.

Loading the prize into his car, Teddy committed the address on the form to memory and programmed it into his GPS. The drive was pleasant and he realised it had been a while since the man had taken the time to leave his house for an extended period of time. The gloomy scenery of Gotham gave way to a beautiful coastline. All too soon the view returned to that of urban development and the even more depressing misery of Blüdhaven loomed all around him.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter One**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**17 Across - XVI (7 letters)**_

_**30 Down - Possess (3 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	2. Meeting Mr Grayson

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Two - Meeting Mr Grayson_

Studiously following the annoying woman's voice on his GPS, Teddy turned throughout the suburban areas of Blüdhaven and pulled up at a slightly run down house in the middle of mediocrity. Obviously Mr Grayson had also elected to blend in so his abode would hopefully remain safe in his absence. The lawns were moderately well kept, no doubt to avoid suspicion from his neighbours and Teddy glanced behind him at the prize and now wished he'd made it more subtle. He shrugged internally since it was too late for him to change it now, picked it up and made his way up the front path.

There was no doorbell or knocker so Teddy rapped smartly on the door. There was a crash and some muttered cursing before the door flung open and Teddy was met with a rumpled, boxer-clad man with ruffled raven hair. It was certainly a challenge to keep his eyes on the man's face when he was one of the most ripped men he'd ever seen in real life. He had clearly been woken up from sleep and stood blinking at him. Oh wait, that's right. He's here on business.

"Good morning. I'm sorry for waking you up, Mr Grayson," Teddy apologised. Against his will, his eyes travelled to the man's biceps and he quickly pulled his gaze back up where it belonged.

Richard cleared his throat before responding. "That's alright Mr..."

"Zerr. Theodore Zerr. Teddy if you prefer," he answered Richard's unasked question.

Richard flashed him a quick grin, all perfectly gleaming teeth. "Only if you call me Dick. Come in," he waved the stranger into his home.

Teddy didn't know which to question first. The name or the invite. He settled on the former. "Dick?" he asked questioningly.

"Short for Richard, of course," smirked the man as he waved the other to his couch.

Sitting down, Teddy glanced around the room. It was much cleaner than the exterior and there were quite a few more comforts and noteworthy items than the outside represented. Yes, Mr Grayson - Dick was certainly a clever one. A discarded jacket lay on the coffee table and it appeared the man was a law enforcement officer. Well that certainly explained his move to the crime-riddled Blüdhaven. "Oh. Do you usually invite strangers into your house, Mr Gr, er, Dick?" It felt weird to call someone that without meaning it as an insult.

Dick smirked once again. "Usually the people you don't want in your house, don't knock on your front door." He gave a cheerful laugh that somehow made Teddy feel a little lighter. It wasn't often that the man heard laughter that wasn't of the canned variety on one of those horrid late night comedy road show thingies.

"Fair enough. I am truly sorry for disturbing you." Teddy looked at the board in his hands. He hadn't considered that his timing might not be appropriate. For a self-proclaimed genius, he should have done a little bit more research before dropping by. He ought to have phoned ahead. Teddy looked back to his host and saw his host's cheeks flush pink as he realised he was practically naked.

"Er, I'll be back in just a moment," said Dick who sped to his bedroom and donned a robe. He returned with a slightly sheepish look.

Teddy tactfully pretended not to notice it as he rose to his feet clutching the board. "Well Dick, I'm the editor of Mr Z's Variety Puzzles and it is my sincere pleasure to award you this prize of one thousand dollars!" Teddy flashed the slightly stunned Dick a winning smile and flipped the board around to show him that it clearly wasn't a prank.

Blinking his surprise away, Dick's face broke out into a smile. "Er, thanks Teddy but I really don't need the money. I'm the son of Bruce Wayne. You keep it to help fund your amazing puzzle books." The dazzling smile was obviously the man's way of getting exactly what he wanted and he'd probably perfected it at length on his adoptive father. It would certainly not be the downfall of Theodore Zerr no matter how shiny his teeth were.

Teddy flashed him a small smile in return. "As I'm sure you know being a police officer and all Dick, I'm bound by law to give you this prize and I have no want to become a criminal. Of course, what you choose to do with the money is your choice. If you want to donate it or something, feel free." He couldn't help but notice that his smile had ended up as a smirk sometime during his argument. Oh well.

With a playful roll of his eyes, Dick moved to Teddy, shook his hand and accepted the cellophane wrapped gift with the good grace of a well-trained son of a billionaire. "At the very least, allow me to shout you a lunch to show my appreciation."

Teddy nodded to show his assent as the officer made a hasty exit to dress in actual clothing. As he did so, the crossword compiler had a more thorough look around the room from his vantage point on the couch. The walls were a pale green colour and the room was immaculate. Perhaps he was as obsessive compulsive as himself. There were many beautiful paintings, vases and sculptures around the room but only the cheaper ones were in sightlines from the windows. Very clever.

In the centre of one of the walls was a large portrait of three circus performers next to a poster advertising the Flying Graysons. Dick looked similar to the man in the portrait who was clearly his deceased father. Same hair, ice blue eyes, nose and ears but the cheeks and smile were clearly his mother's. From his startlingly excellent physique, it appeared the man had kept up with his early training in some form or other.

What Teddy also noticed was a distinct lack of memorabilia of his adopted father Bruce Wayne. In fact, there appeared to be no photographs of him at all which probably indicated the pair parted on poor terms. How very interesting.

Teddy was pulled from his musings by Dick's reappearance. Somehow the deep blue polo shirt and jeans made the officer look even more handsome than he did before in his ruffled pyjamas and that shouldn't have been possible, yet it was. The colour made his eyes almost luminescent. He hoped his internal swooning would remain that way and the blush he could feel just under the surface stayed buried. He hadn't even looked at someone in years and he found the whole situation a little disconcerting.

"Ready to go?" the officer asked politely.

Teddy blinked. "You mean now?"

Dick laughed delightedly. When he gathered himself he answered, "Well, you are going to eat lunch today, aren't you? Also I don't even know where you live or anything so, yeah. Now."

"S-sure." Teddy said as he was escorted out the door. "Er, why don't we take separate cars, that way neither of us are inconvenienced when the lunch concludes."

The officer shrugged and strolled to his car as the editor did the same. Dick pulled out of his driveway and pulled up next to Teddy. He unwound his window and when Teddy had done the same, he yelled, "Follow me, I know an excellent place for lunch," over the roar of two engines. Without waiting for a response, the man drove down the street and Teddy hastened to shadow him, not wanting to get left behind. He fumbled to get the window back up again with his old sedan but eventually managed it and trailed the cop to the central mall of Blüdhaven.

Teddy managed to score a car park a mere three spaces away from Dick who was already leaning against the side of his locked car, looking for all intents and purposes like a model which Teddy found to be both a little daunting and more than unfair. As the man was looking at him, he didn't try to fix his hair in his rear vision mirror like he would have preferred and stepped out of the car. He clamped down on the butterflies in his stomach while reminding himself that no, this was not a date, just a casual lunch with a nice man with a very pretty brain. Although the packaging was also very appealing too.

Dick smirked as he led Teddy to the nearby restaurant and the latter nearly had a coronary. He'd rarely eaten in public since he donned the Riddler costume for fear of being recognised and before that he'd never eaten somewhere this fancy before. In fact, it was rather surprising that there was such a nice quality restaurant in Blüdhaven in the first place. It must get robbed frequently. Hopefully that wouldn't happen while the pair were dining there this afternoon. It would be awful for some long-forgotten cretin to recognise him and ruin his new life.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Two**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**31 Across - Floral vessels (5 letters)**_

_**7 Down - Leave (4 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	3. Dining at the Villa Florentine

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Three - Dining at the Villa Florentine_

The Villa Florentine was an Italian restaurant which apparently served traditional cuisine. Teddy looked around in awe at the beautiful white washed walls with what appeared to be authentic frescos painted on them. Dick noticed his attention and while they stood at the 'please wait to be seated' area, he informed him that at the beginning of each season, a man called Marco Fibonacci would spend about a month hand painting a new scene over the previous one. It was a clever gimmick, it would inspire customers to come back to see it completed and then anticipate the next one.

Dick pointed out the winter scene of a cathedral coated in a layer of snow. "That'll be the next one to go," he sighed. "It's my favourite. I'll miss it when it goes."

Teddy placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "You never know, perhaps the next one will be even better."

Pursing his lips, Dick cautiously agreed although it was clear to Teddy that he sincerely doubted it would match up to the current vista.

A perky brunette woman appeared with a smile and a couple of menus. She smirked at Dick who glanced away with a small grin of his own and it wasn't until they moved away that Teddy realised he'd left his hand on that shoulder way too long. Apparently all the smarts in the world couldn't make him subtle. Thankfully the heat he felt rising from his cheeks went unobserved by the pair.

Teresa, which her name tag proudly declared, took their drink orders and left them to peruse the menus.

Dick cleared his throat and the other man looked up to meet his gaze. "Now, Teddy, you know my situation. Don't order something cheap because you feel obligated or anything. Get whatever you like."

Frowning at the implication, Teddy said, "I'm perfectly aware of all that and although I may not be as well off as you, I do live very comfortably and have no issues ordering whatever the hell I want."

The police officer's smile widened and he sipped the wine that Teresa bought to the table.

"Are you ready to order?" the Italian woman inquired politely.

Due to his decent upbringing, Dick cocked his head at Teddy in inquiry. The latter rolled his eyes in response before selecting the fettuccini carbonara with a side of bruschetta. Dick just asked for the usual and Teresa snorted.

"I already wrote yours down before, Officer. I think Luigi started grilling it when I mentioned you were here. The other food here is very good, you know. Perhaps one day you should try it," suggested the brunette.

Dick flashed her one of his sparkling smiles and shrugged, "Sorry T, I'm a..."

"Creature of habit, yes, yes, I know," interrupted the woman with a roll of her brown eyes. One of her eyebrows raised in mischief. "Then again, you've always dined alone before so perhaps you're branching out." She sauntered off before Dick could comment and Teddy was graced with another of his delicious blushes.

Deciding to cut the man some slack, Teddy politely ignored the implications that this was a date and that apparently Dick didn't seem to go out often and instead began discussing the latest political intrigue.

It seemed like no time had passed at all before Teresa distributed the meals with another of her grins and Teddy was surprised to note that he found her rather amusing. It wasn't often that random citizens failed to irk him in some way and he had to wonder to himself if it was due to the fact he was enjoying himself, thus making himself less judgemental or because she seemed to be a pleasant acquaintance of, if not friends with Dick.

Their conversation halted as the both eagerly attacked their lunch with vigour. It wasn't until Teddy had almost inhaled his meal that he remembered he'd hardly eaten anything for breakfast and Dick went without. The pasta was exquisite and the herbs and oils in the bruschetta made him unable to stop until both dishes were cleared. It wasn't until he reached for his serviette that he noticed the other's eyes on him and a slight smirk on his face.

Refusing to blush at his obvious enjoyment of the meal or to stutter out some pathetic form of apology, Teddy gently dabbed his lips and stared evenly back. If he could go a few (well maybe a couple) rounds with the Batman, facing down a billionaire was child's play.

Dick gave a gentle shrug in return, showing that although he had been caught watching, he wasn't bothered about it in the least. This caused Teddy to smile and chortle on the inside.

The pair were broken from their gaze as something silver flashed between them followed by a rather large thump on the table. Teddy jumped in surprise and looked down at the silver bowl topped with vanilla ice-cream and two spoons. There were various smaller vessels with different toppings in them.

"It's on the house," smirked Teresa and left before either patron could utter a word.

Well, there was no way Teddy was going to leave perfectly satisfactory ice-cream to melt due to mere awkwardness so he selected a topping and poured it over a portion of the dessert. He delved greedily into the sweet without a second thought. His action spurred the police officer to do the same and very soon, both men were enjoying their unexpected treat.

Yes, Teddy had been impressed with the man's mind. They had covered a broad range of topics during their meal and he'd never once felt bored or annoyed. This was practically unheard of. Everyone seemed to get up his nose every once and a while but Dick Grayson hadn't managed to do so, even when he was wearing only underwear in his own home!

For once in his life, Teddy had no idea what to do. He tried not to let it unnerve him but seriously, he ALWAYS had a plan. Ever since he was little he knew he wasn't like everyone else. While his peers at school were reading picture books, he was devouring novels. By the time the others graduated, he'd already been working in a lab for over a year. When he was asked why he wasn't rich if he was so smart, he took action to do so. After his incarceration, he realised he needed to leave that life of crime behind and start a new one. Which left Teddy with the most delicious riddle ever. What now?

Teddy pushed the philosophic question to the back of his mind and realised the majority of the ice-cream was now gone. A few times, he clinked spoons with Dick and deduced that they had probably shared some germs by now but still, ice-cream! If there was one thing the former criminal had a weakness for, it was the sugary sweet and he wasn't above fighting for it.

Although he was loathe to admit it, Teddy became a little more assertive in his pursuit of the last remnants of the dessert. Dick caught his eye with another of the man's seemingly endless smirks and he battled back. It was on. The pair valiantly sparred and were practically giggling like a pair of schoolgirls when a pointed throat clearing brought them back to the present and the men remembered that yes, they were in public and yes, people could actually see them.

A quick glance around them room showed Teddy that they had garnered quite a bit of attention and the person who had cleared their throat appeared to be a middle aged man who was dining with his wife. They were dressed well and the wife was positively dripping in diamonds. They must have been new money because only an imbecile would wear such finery in the middle of Blüdhaven.

Teddy quirked an eyebrow at his dining partner who returned it with a light laugh. "Two days," said Dick with a grin.

"Three hours," Teddy replied, causing them both to collapse into unrestrained giggles.

"Excuse me," came a bored, stuffy voice. "My wife and I are trying to enjoy the atmosphere of this already mediocre establishment." It appeared the man had had enough.

Well so had Teddy. "That's an uninteresting observation, Mr Watson."

The man swelled with pride at being recognised, despite the clear implication that he was an insufferable prick.

"A r-question for you, Mr Watson," Teddy nonchalantly mentioned. He hoped no one noticed his slip. He couldn't believe he almost said riddle. That would have been spectacularly stupid. "Is your motor vehicle insurance up to date?"

The balding man looked inquiringly at Teddy. "Er, yes. Of course it is."

"Well I hope the police station isn't too far a walk for you because I believe you parked your Silver Aston Martin across the road, didn't you?" Teddy pointed to the now vacant parking space and the man rose from his seat with a yell. The pair quickly left the establishment causing Teddy, Dick and quite a few onlookers to laugh aloud. The expensive car had already been stolen.

Dick paid the bill, leaving a very generous tip for Teresa and the pair left the restaurant. They walked to Dick's car because it was the closer of the two and stood astride it.

They stared at each other for a moment before Dick broke the silence. "Thank you Teddy for your company this afternoon. You're something else."

"A good something else, I hope," the other said.

"Yeah," he agreed. He placed a warm hand on Teddy's bicep and the latter could feel the palpitations of his heart speeding rapidly out of control.

"Well, good afternoon to you," Teddy filled the sudden silence and sent the officer a smile. Without waiting for a response, he turned and made his way to his vehicle. With one last lingering glance at the still standing Dick, Teddy smiled before he began his drive back to Gotham.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Three**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**6 Across - Domicile (4 letters)**_

_**23 Down - Upset (7 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	4. A Crock of Black Clocks

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Four - A Crock of Black Clocks_

Teddy tried to stop himself from thinking of Dick after the whole not-really-a-date-but-could-have-been-thingy but found himself unable to. In fact, the brunet man was in his thoughts almost constantly. The intelligence was intoxicating, his ice blue eyes mesmerising and his white teeth dazzling. It was a pretty picture and definitely worth much more than a mere thousand words.

At first the constant thoughts of the officer was a curse. Teddy lost many hours of sleep and spent several others satisfying his lusty desires himself. When he wasn't trying to nod off and willing his almost continuous erection down, he often found himself wondering what Dick would think about this or whether he would approve of that. It was actually quite distressing for the former villain. He'd never been driven to such distraction by a mere person before. Especially not a male one with the obvious exception of Batman.

Of course, the whole attraction to men thing wasn't even a blip on Teddy's radar. He knew that statistically about one in thirteen had some kind of attraction be it weak or strong to the same sex and he really couldn't give a damn if he fell into that minority. Please, it's the twenty-first century for crying out loud and if people were to take exception, well they could mind their own damn business.

About two weeks after the maybe-date, Teddy received a subscription notice for two years from Richard Grayson. What did cause him to almost fall over in shock was that instead of the two hundred and ten dollar fee, he had sent a cheque for two thousand one hundred dollars. It could have seemed like an oversight but both Teddy and Dick knew better. That sneaky bastard!

Teddy certainly didn't stare longingly at the signature at all, on several occasions. Okay, so that was a complete lie. He did. He'd wasted hours reading and rereading the loopy cursive. It was quite pathetic, truth be told. After catching himself staring at the cheque for the thirtieth time in about four minutes, he decided enough was enough and forced himself to flip it over, face down.

It was at that moment that Teddy got another surprise. How he had missed in his many hours of examination that there was a message on the flip side was inexcusable.

**Hello Teddy. I enjoyed your company last week. If I can crack your next Teaser, perhaps we could dine out again. Of course, I certainly hope this next one will be more of a challenge. The last one was a little too easy. Cheers, Dick.**

That bloody mother fucking bastard! Surely he knew that Teddy's crossword puzzle was pure genius. The words pissed him off so much that he just wanted to grab the man and smack him on the ass. Repeatedly. Unbidden, imagery of the event crossed his mind and the surge of lust almost outweighed his ire. Almost.

Well. If Dick had thrown down the gauntlet, Teddy would just have to deliver. It was a true challenge and spurred him on to much greater heights. He had only three days to edit the Terrible Tease before the issue went to print since the one he'd already completed was not good enough. No this one needed more pizazz. It had to be brutal. He had to apply himself to make sure he could not only maintain his high standards but to surpass them. He wanted, no, needed to outwit the man. For the first time since his apparent death, Teddy felt the fluttering in his stomach he used to get when he was inventing a diabolical challenge for the Dark Knight. It was nice to feel that way once more. Especially since he didn't have to threaten Gotham City to do so.

Teddy wasted two days deciding what to do when a stroke of brilliance practically smacked him in the face with a wet fish. Perhaps it was a little dangerous but he couldn't resist. He rarely did them (because they sort of pissed him off) but he made a themed crossword. Ordinarily that wouldn't warrant concern but the genre he chose was the villains of Gotham. He obviously left himself out hoping that Dick, er, the subscribers wouldn't notice the omission. It was all part of his master plan to trick him.

Teddy managed to fit the beginning words easily and was soon left with the remaining five. He placed **poison** downwards (clearly taken from Poison Ivy) with **Lewis** sharing the I since the Mad Hatter character was a creation of Lewis Carroll. That L was attached to a painful symptom of Catwoman - **whiplash**. Which allowed the I of whiplash and the P of poison to fit Mr Freeze's favoured weapon, his **ice pick**.

This left Teddy with one word to go toward the centre of the grid. It was five letters long with the fourth being a C. He had a few choices. He could use **Black** Mask, **Clock** King or the homophone **Crock** of Killer Croc. Instead, he elected to use an unrelated word. That way he could hopefully trick the savvy puzzlers into trying one of the other options that fit instead of the one that was actually correct. All he had to do was imply a grandfather clock with the red herrings and hopefully he could get away with his little deception. The correct answer turned out to be **Trick**.

If that wasn't enough to fool the police officer, Teddy would eat his own cooking (which always turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions) while break dancing on a tightrope. Satisfied that he would definitely succeed in deceiving the man, he sent the final proof of the edition to the printers.

The problem was now that he had finished, he had little left to do.

The puzzle extraordinaire kept himself busy around the house, cleaning and washing it until it shined. Not that he was contemplating any upstanding law enforcement officers to stop by for a bagel or anything. But if someone did indeed stop by, well it wouldn't be embarrassing for him. He spring cleaned fastidiously for several days and was surprised at how much he had let the place go in his previous apathy. It was quite disgusting, truth be told.

It was only after he'd made the place sparkle that Teddy also remembered to update his website. Considering his complex electronic devices he used on the Batman, he was woefully pathetic at updating his website. He smiled gleefully as he posted (to a rather disgruntled clientele) that someone had actually managed to crack what most of them considered to be unsolvable. The editor didn't mention the man by his true name since he figured the officer already garnered enough attention as it was, so he changed it Richard Johnson. It was a brilliant idea and now whenever he thought of Dick in his head, he called him Dick Squared.

Teddy also painstakingly spent hours creating the most garish obituary he'd ever seen, let alone written.

**It is with great condolences that Mr Z's Variety Puzzles announces the death of Ms Sylvia Moore's monthly bottles of wine and flowers. Having topped the charts for thirty-seven months in succession, Ms Moore's bottles of wine and flowers were decimated by Dick Squared (Mr Richard Johnson) in a display of linguistic prowess. In conclusion, it could be said that if she was going to be taken down, being done in by two dicks is certainly a fantastic way to go.**

Was it particularly professional? No. Not at all. It was part of the reason why Teddy's subscribers liked him so much. His earthier comments and quips on the site always rated better than the blander notes.

Teddy wasn't a complete asshole. He still intended to send Sylvia the monthly wine and roses, as she was one of his most dedicated readers but the others didn't need to know that. It would cause an uproar and they might think they were being treated unfairly. Not that he would have had a problem with that, he used to deliver death threats on a weekly basis for heaven's sake.

Since he was so ahead of the game, Teddy started the following edition's puzzles. When he'd completed all but the Teaser, he decided that he should probably not spend all of his time getting further and further ahead. He'd get even more bored otherwise. Instead, the ex-villain went out and about Gotham for the first time since his faked death.

The puzzle compiler visited the zoo, the pool, the botanical gardens and even the casino. He managed to get roped into a high stakes game of poker which he tactfully lost when he realised the players were associates of the Penguin. There was no way he was going to draw attention to himself like that when the world considered him dead. Especially if he wanted to attract the attention of a certain blue eyed Blüdhaven cop.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Four**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**26 Across - Anger (3 letters)**_

_**13 Down - Glacial chipping tool (2 words - 3 & 4 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	5. Trick and Treat

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Five - Trick and Treat_

Teddy meticulously checked the return address of each letter he received for the Teaser competition, only to be left disappointed. There were only two days remaining before the closing date of the prize draw and the closest anyone else came was a man called Bryant von Senden with a measly twenty-six percent. Pathetic. Where was Dick's entry?

Of course, the law officer might have been too busy to complete Teddy's puzzles or perhaps it was too difficult and the man was now embarrassed. Perhaps he should have made them easier?

Teddy found it difficult to fall asleep that night, worried that he was looking too much into everything but being unable to help doing so. It had been ever so long since he'd made any sort of connection with another human being and this was one he definitely wanted to continue. If he hadn't scared the man away, of course.

There were quite a few drawbacks Teddy could fathom as he lay in his bed. One. He was clearly at least a decade older than the young officer. Two. He was hard to connect with since he gave others barely a chance before writing them off as stupid, like that idiot man and wife in the restaurant. Three. He might be seen as a gold digger. It's not Dick's fault that he doesn't know that Teddy couldn't give a flying golf cart about something as tawdry as money. Four. He wasn't the most athletic of men and certainly was nowhere near as ripped as the cop. In fact he was pathetically far from it. He mightn't like his slim but untoned physique. The list was starting to get a little out of control and started depressing him out. He mercifully fell asleep somewhere around number twenty-four.

The next morning dawned bright and Teddy couldn't help himself from jumping out of bed, running outside, grabbing his mail and dumping it on his dining table. He belatedly realised he'd just shown any nearby Gothamites his Batman boxers and couldn't stop a blush from spreading across his face, even though no one was there to see it.

Teddy sorted the mail and squealed with glee when he found the letter he was looking for. It was here! Finally! He carefully set it aside and glanced through the others which were particularly pathetic. Filing the bills in a neat pile to the side, he finally ripped open the letter he'd been waiting for.

As expected, all of the across words checked out. It was the downs he was more interested in. There it sat, near the middle of the puzzle. **Trick**. He felt a swell of disappointment that he'd been unable to fool the man and elated that he would indeed see him again. Upon closer examination, he did note that the cells had been erased over a couple of times. At least he had caused the man some consternation!

Teddy scarfed another light breakfast (since he was too excited to feel particularly hungry) and tried to get dressed. He donned his dark blue jeans with socks and sneakers but selecting a shirt was proving difficult. His first choice was a mustard t-shirt but it made him look icteric. He then tried a black tee but instead of yellowing his skin, this one made him appear pasty. After much internal debate, he settled on a nice light blue and white striped polo.

As soon as he finished the rest of his daily hygiene care, the excited puzzle compiler was jauntily on his way to the bank. He withdrew the thousand but left it as a small wad of notes instead of the garish display of last time. Hopefully his gesture would be appreciated.

Teddy whistled tunelessly to himself as he made his way back to his car and plugged the officer's address back into the GPS. It certainly wasn't stalkerish of him to have memorised it after one meeting, was it?

The drive to Blüdhaven wasn't quite as nice as last time since it was raining rather heavily. Teddy was also unimpressed with how much slower the traffic was going due to the bad weather conditions. Since there was nothing much else to do, he considered various eating options in Gotham. It was his turn to treat Dick as far as he was concerned, which also gave him the benefit of selecting the venue.

The Royal Hotel was too pretentious. As the adopted son of a billionaire, Dick would have probably been there way too many times. Clubs may be a better option but Finnegan's was obviously full of crooks. The same could be said of the Stacked Deck, much too seedy. In fact, most (if not all) of them were clubhouses of various criminal organisations. In the end, the puzzle compiler decided on a respectable café in Park Row.

About five minutes later, Teddy found himself knocking on the door of Dick's home. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and he even felt a slight trace of nausea. How could a man he'd only met once have such a dramatic effect on him?

The door opened almost immediately to Dick with his dazzling smile. He was dressed in a casual vintage tee of Spider-Man and a pair of worn denim shorts.

"I saw you pull up," said the cop unnecessarily.

Teddy had already surmised as much. "Fair enough, Dick."

The pair stared intently at each other for quite a while. Teddy raised his eyebrow at the man. "OH!" he stated in surprise. "Did, er, did you want to, uh, come in?"

Teddy snorted with amusement as he brushed past the man in the doorway. Just that one casual touch caused a pleasant jolt of energy down his entire arm. "Some adopted son of a billionaire you are, no manners at all," he teased. It was his namesake after all.

Dick rolled his eyes with a smile and gestured at his couch. The other obligingly seated himself and the police officer sat next to him, knees gently touching. Neither man moved away. There was another silence, this one fell just short of uncomfortable but it was a close call.

In the end it was Dick who broke the silence. "So, I take it from the lack of a board, that I got twenty-six down wrong and you've come here to gloat?" he asked in a deadpan tone.

Teddy snorted inelegantly. "Quite the opposite in fact," he said as he held out the small stack of notes.

Dick collected his winnings with a raised eyebrow. "Was I not worth decorating the money for this time?"

Raising an eyebrow in return, Teddy shrugged. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't want an advertisement to the local populace of your wealth. Especially since you've taken the time and energy to place your more expensive decorations out of the sightlines of the windows. If you like I could always drop the notes into a can of paint or something."

Laughing, Dick just shook his head and tucked the wad of money carefully into a hidden drawer within his coffee table. "Maybe next time, Teddy."

Teddy felt a flutter at the thought of seeing Dick again, even though he was already in his presence. It was then that he recognised the bright orange sign sitting under one of the windows. "You still have that?" he asked somewhat mortified. The congratulatory sign he'd given the man last time sat with the money still pinned to it.

"Yep," said Dick. He smirked and pointed to a corner where some of the notes had been removed. "I've been using it to tip the pizza delivery guy with. It's way easier to grab a couple of notes from there than go scrounging through my wallet."

"That makes sense," agreed Teddy, "but then you'll be stuck with that thing leaning against your wall for a long time."

Dick shrugged, unconcerned. "Trick huh? It definitely was a tricky one."

Without realising it, Teddy slumped a little. "Yeah, I suppose."

Dick placed a warm hand on Teddy's shoulder. "Just admit it. If I had gotten it wrong, you would have been disappointed in me."

It was hard for the puzzle compiler to concentrate with the added heat on his shoulder but he considered the cop's point. Originally he wanted to trick the man to show his superiority. If he had succeeded, he would have felt elated but it was also true. He would have been at the very least moderately upset that the other man wasn't clever enough for him. In a way, it was a trap.

Teddy's mind clicked. He'd done the exact same thing with Batman. He spent years trying to get one over him, without success. If he had managed to kill him, it would have been devastating. Thank goodness he'd never achieved his goal. There was a good chance it might have plunged him into insanity.

"I, er, you're right. I'd never really thought of it like that. I just wanted to prove I was smarter. I'm such an idiot!" Teddy was starting to work himself up into a bit of a state. Dick's hand slid down his arm to rest on his forearm. The man gave him a comfortable squeeze and the sensation brought his mind back to the present. He blinked a couple of times and said to the cop, "Sorry, I just lost my mind a bit. Well, you have your winnings but I was wondering if you might like to join me for lunch. It's my turn to treat you."

A broad grin and a, "Sounds great," confirmed the appointment.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Five**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**13 Across - Jaundice (7 letters)**_

_**10 Down - Imbecile (5 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	6. Robin a Jewellery Store

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Six - Robin a Jewellery Store_

Since the café Teddy had decided upon was indeed in Gotham, Dick had consented to being driven there and was placidly sitting in his passenger seat. At first, being trapped in the car together was a little discomforting but Dick started talking about random things and Teddy found himself easily drawn into the conversation. The time passed rather quickly. It seemed like only a few minutes had elapsed (when in reality it was so much longer than that) before they were pulling up in front of the NJ Café.

The NJ Café was one of Teddy's favourite places to eat out. It was generally spared from the rampant crime rate in Gotham because they had the best steaks in town. Even criminals love a good steak. He'd even heard that the Joker would buy (steal) a couple of rare steaks each week for his two pet hyenas.

"Pulling out all the stops, I see," noted Dick with a smile.

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because there are so many respectable places with decent steak in this town. I also figured you'd eaten at the Iceberg lounge enough times already."

Dick laughed at the sarcasm but shuddered at the mention of the Penguin's semi-respectable lair. Sarcasm was definitely one of the things the two had in common. They quickly found an unoccupied table which happened to have a window view and both perused the menu. Which in itself was quite ridiculous since every single time Teddy had eaten at the establishment, he'd always gotten the same meal. Medium rare steak with chips and no salad. Why ruin a good meal with healthy shit? It had never made sense to him.

The pair were soon attended to by one of the waiters, a blond waif of a man and as soon as he left, they were once again absorbed in their own conversation. Teddy just couldn't work out what he found so captivating about the police officer but something about the ex-acrobat just drew his attention and held it ransom.

The only time the two halted their discussion (which had actually turned to the psychosis of Harley Quinn) was when their respective steaks arrived. Despite the somewhat long wait, it was cooked to perfection and Teddy could definitely have eaten seconds and possibly a third serving. Dick seemed to enjoy his just as much if the appreciative moans he gave were any indication. They all went straight to Teddy's cock, which began to inflate with more than its fair share of interest. Thankfully he had a meal to consume and a table to cover his body's traitorous actions.

Eventually, Dick released an extremely satisfied sigh (which did not help Teddy's situation one bit) and sat back with a large smirk. "That was amazing!" he commented earnestly. "If it wouldn't make me sick, I'd totally go another."

"I know exactly what you mean," agreed Teddy with a grin. He patted his distended stomach to emphasise his point and tried not to preen at Dick's answering laugh. Since when had he turned into such a sap? Well, that was probably when he saw Dick's chiselled abs for the first time.

They let their heavy lunches settle and talked about the architectural differences between Gotham, Blüdhaven and Metropolis. Teddy was all for the somewhat depressing gargoyles of Gotham while Dick was just pleased that no one was stupid enough to gild a Blüdhaven building because it would only take a matter of hours before the gold would be stripped by some sort of criminal. Teddy privately agreed even though he'd never have conceived of such a passé crime himself, he'd leave that for the less intelligent crooks like Killer Croc.

Eventually the blond waiter came back and Teddy gestured for the man to come closer. He whispered some instructions into the man's ear and the young guy nodded with a small smile before leaving the table.

"What was all that about?" asked Dick with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, like he knew whatever it was would be some sort of good thing.

Teddy hoped he would agree when it arrived. "Oh, nothing much really," he said airily with a vague hand gesture.

"Sure," snorted Dick sarcastically, although his dimples still studded his toothpaste white smile.

A few minutes later, the blond (Eric, according to his nametag) returned with a large bowl of ice-cream. He gently placed it in the middle of the table between two men and added two spoons, one near each guy. "Enjoy," he smiled and left to wait on the table next to theirs.

They virtually inhaled the sugary treat, barely tasting it and once again fought over the dregs. Teddy just loved how they would put every ounce of concentration into acquiring that final bite. Unfortunately, Dick was the one who got the last scoop and Teddy didn't even feel badly about it since the ex-acrobat flashed him the most adorable smile. Thankfully he caught himself before sighing aloud. Now that would have been embarrassing.

The look the two were sharing was shattered by the sounds of an alarm. They looked out the window and saw the jewellery store on the opposite side of the street being burgled. Dick fiddled with his watch and said, "So who do you think's robbing it?"

Teddy thought to himself for a moment before deciding, "Probably the Clock King. I vaguely remember there being some sort of semi-famous wristwatch being on display there a couple of weeks ago."

"I'm glad I'm not on duty. I'd hate to get called out of lunch with you for a petty crime at Tiffany's. Seriously, I'm surprised there's a branch in Gotham in the first place with the rampant crime rate and all." Dick's hand stilled after he'd slowly reached it across the table.

Teddy understood the unasked question immediately and replied by lacing his fingers with Dick's. It was ridiculous how loud his heart was beating in his chest. He felt the familiar warmth that accompanied a blush on his cheeks and was so very pleased that none of his old acquaintances would ever know about how far he had sunk. Falling for a cop of all things. How entirely ridiculous.

A couple of rounds of gunfire brought the pair's attention back the robbery across the street. "You were right," said Dick in surprise. "It is the Clock King."

Teddy just smiled. He felt the hand in his twinge. "Don't."

Dick's forehead furrowed. "Don't what?" he asked in confusion.

"You're thinking about whether you should be a good little cop and try to confront the Clock King and his underlings. Don't. Batman or one of his lackeys will be here soon," said Teddy with absolute certainty.

"Lackeys?" asked Dick in surprise.

Teddy mentally berated himself. What a stupid slip. Dick's presence was clearly affecting his brain. He'd have to come up some pretty convincing bullshit to get out of this one. "Well, can you honestly say the Batman would ever consider someone else his equal? The first robin clearly had enough of the Bat since he left the clan as soon as he came of age."

"First Robin? You mean there's been more than one?" asked Dick with confusion.

"Please," said Teddy with a slight amount of disdain. "You can't honestly believe that Robin has been a child for almost seventeen years. It's not biologically possible."

"Huh, I'd never really thought about it before," Dick noted quietly before biting his lip in thought.

A shadow passed by the window and the boy in question landed gracefully on the street before he leapt up onto the ledge above the jewellery store's entrance.

"You're right," conceded Dick as he critically examined the figure when silently crept into the shop, "he's got to be what, sixteen? That would have made him about, er, in the womb when the other Robin started fighting crime."

Teddy chuckled at the statement partly with relief. He managed to get out of a potentially sticky situation. They watched as two police cars pulled up and dragged three bound bodies into their backseats. Obviously Robin had prevailed.

Eric returned back to their table to collect the empty bowl and to give Teddy the bill. "So Dick, what do you think? He's been pretty good to us."

Dick raised an eyebrow and glanced at the blond, who immediately pasted an incredibly adorable grin on his face. "Eighteen?"

"Hmmm, I was thinking fifteen," noted Teddy and took great delight in the guy's disappointment, even though he was trying not to show it.

"Fine, how about we split the difference then?" suggested the police officer.

"Sixteen and a half? Alright then." Teddy took the bill from Eric and grabbed the pen he always kept in his breast pocket. With minimal working out he deduced the tip and factored it into the overall total. He handed the exact total over to Eric's complete bemusement with a wide smile. "Don't spend it all at once, young man." He turned his attention back to Dick. "Shall we?"

"Yes. Let's," he agreed.

The pair left the establishment with unrestrained chuckles when they saw Eric with his phone out, no doubt checking the sixteen and a half percent tip. Thankfully, the police cars had just left the vicinity and the two men hopped into Teddy's car for the return trip to Blüdhaven.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Six**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**18 Across - Sampling (food) (7 letters)**_

_**8 Down - Jumped up (5 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	7. Pit Stop

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Seven - Pit Stop_

The first half of the drive back to Blüdhaven was full of mindless chatter as Teddy spent most of his concentration trying not to crash his car in the heavy rain. Sure, he knew the small stretch of land between Blüdhaven and Gotham wasn't particularly idyllic at the best of times but this was ridiculous. Why hadn't he noticed that the light rain from earlier had gotten so much worse? Visibility was almost zero and he mentally chastised himself for not just inviting Dick back to his somewhat respectably clean apartment. He bit his lower lip as he focussed every ounce of his attention on the road, casual conversation be damned.

"Hey," said Dick suddenly, startling Teddy so much that he nearly swerved them off the road. "Oh sorry, Teddy," he apologised, "but up ahead there's a turnoff to a nearby parking garage. Can you turn down it for me?"

"Sure," noted Teddy absently and he almost sighed with relief when he exited the freeway. That had been quite terrifying, truth be told. He also had a strong feeling that killing Dick, no matter how accidentally, would be worse karma than all of his previous crimes combined.

The parking structure was huge so Teddy drove them up to the second level. The absence of the torrential rain was a great relief and when he applied the handbrake with great flourish, he couldn't help but flash a thankful smile Dick's way.

Dick didn't respond in any way to the sudden stop or the smile, he was too busy staring intently at Teddy's face.

Teddy frowned. "What?" he asked.

Dick unbuckled his seatbelt and lunged needily toward the ex-criminal which is how Teddy found himself with a mouthful of the most amazing lips he'd ever tasted. It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination which made it that little bit better. Their teeth collided on more than one occasion and the small stabs of pain just added the smallest jolts of electricity to their lip lock. "Mph," moaned one of them as their tongues started fighting for dominance.

As they continued mercilessly attacking each other's mouths, Teddy blindly groped beside his chair for the lever that would lower his backrest. He moaned in approval when he managed to activate it and the seat went from vertical to horizontal. The only downside was the instant where his lips were forcibly wrenched from Dick's. That was so not on but he grabbed the man's vintage tee and hungrily tugged him down, reuniting their mouths once again.

Dick used this new leverage to his advantage and took great delight in pushing himself down into Teddy. They both moaned in appreciation at the contact and extended pressure on their excited cocks.

Teddy worked his mouth down from Dick's luscious lips to the base of his neck. He relished in the keening noises the police officer kept making and almost came in his pants when he heard a barely audible, "Fuck, Ted. You feel so fucking good."

Now Teddy wasn't exactly a virgin or anything but his few experiences paled in comparison to the absolute amazing specimen of man panting the most goddam hot things in his ear. "I want you so much, babe, you have no idea how much I need you right now."

There must have been some kind of gravitational pull between their lips because no matter how much Teddy wanted to mark the flawless skin in front of him, they always strayed back.

Dick made another one of his almost criminal moans, the kind that would cause even the most devout nun to wantonly throw her panties at him, as he pulled back and slipped his now somewhat abused Spider-Man shirt over his head. Teddy would have been extremely embarrassed by the loud gasp disappointment he gave at the loss of those now debauched lips but that would have required him to have any brain cells left that weren't completely clouded with overwhelming lust.

Running his hands up and down Teddy's chest, Dick's hands slid underneath his shirt and it felt so fucking amazing. Soon his blue and white striped polo joined Spidey somewhere as it was carelessly thrown aside. The skin on skin contact between their torsos caused them both to cry out.

Teddy slid his hands restlessly over Dick's naked back, digging his fingertips in with gusto, causing the man to groan in pleasure. "Fuck you feel so amazing," gasped Teddy as Dick's mouth started to nip playfully at his neck. The answering grunt of agreement went straight to his already throbbing cock.

As if they had choreographed it beforehand, their bodies began to move against each other with delicious friction. Teddy relished in the feel of Dick's chiselled abs rutting against his not quite so defined ones, for once not caring that he looked much less attractive than the other. Clearly Dick found something worthwhile in his appearance and as the younger man continued to writhe on top of him, he really couldn't give a flying fuck.

Teddy claimed Dick's lips once more as they increased their rutting. The moans and groans growing louder and more frequent than they were before. He slid his hands up from the police officer's back and into his long hair. He couldn't help but grip the ebony tresses firmly and gently pull on them.

The gasp and following whimper Dick gave in response was singlehandedly the absolute hottest thing Teddy had heard in his entire life. "Dick," he moaned, his body crying out for release but at the same time dreading it, not wanting the best moment of his existence to come to an end.

"Do it again," Dick breathily ordered, "harder." Their punishing pace was building to a fever pitch and Teddy didn't think he could last much longer.

The ex-criminal twisted his wrists in Dick's hair to get a better grip a tugged sharply, entranced as the cop's body flexed back with the pull, tensed and let out an almost inhuman whine as he came. Teddy wasn't sure if it was the succulent show of muscles, the pornographic soundtrack of high pitched moans or just the fact that Dick fucking Grayson had just ridden him to climax that caused him to immediately follow but it was hands down, the absolute best orgasm of his life.

As if he were a marionette whose strings had just been cut, Dick collapsed heavily on Teddy. He turned his head to the side and sighed with immense satisfaction as he looked lazily into the other's eyes. "Fuck, Ted. That was..." he said breathily before trailing off.

Teddy smiled at the younger man. "Yeah, it really was." His right hand twitched, reminding him that he was still clutching Dick's hair like it was liable to make a mad dash from Arkham and he loosened his hold. He extracted it but instead of dropping it onto his chest like he'd planned, he ended up brushing the curtain of hair dangling in Dick's perfect face behind his ear and gently cupping his cheek.

Dick leaned into the touch as he stared into the depths of Teddy's eyes with a small smile. "How are you real?" he asked softly, as if he didn't really want to break whatever spell they both appeared to be under.

A crooked smile slid onto the ex-criminal's face. "I don't know and I don't really care because I'm much more worried that you'll fade away on me, Dick."

"Never," affirmed Dick strongly as he placed his palm on Teddy's chest over his heart.

Somewhere amid the intense staring competition the two were engaged in, they fell into a peaceful slumber.

Teddy drifted back into consciousness only to be re-captivated by ocean blue eyes.

"Hey, beautiful," smiled Dick as he carefully pushed himself up. He transferred himself to the passenger seat, slipped his shirt back on, handed Teddy's to him and then held out his hand for Teddy to link his fingers through. After readjusting his seat to its regular position, Teddy considered his whatever they were at the moment. He looked into those cerulean orbs and slowly leant toward them. Dick met him in the middle and they shared a sweet kiss.

After another unhurried pause Dick said, "So it looks like the rain has slowed."

Teddy smiled, "Really? I suppose we really should be going." He turned the key in the ignition and was incredibly thankful he drove an automatic. That way he could still hold Dick's hand for the majority of the rest of the trip back. Unfortunately, it was all too soon that they pulled up in front of the millionaire's modest house.

"Five-five-five-six-three-seven-two-one-nine-one," said Dick suddenly, catching Teddy off-guard.

"What?" he blurted stupidly.

"Don't make me repeat it, Ted. I know you've already memorised it, you smart, sexy man," Dick smirked.

It was true, he had.

"You'd better call me, Theodore Zerr, or I'll be forced to arrest you."

Teddy smiled. "For what exactly?" he asked playfully.

Dick's smirk widened. "For making an officer of the law cum in his pants. I've never done that before and I certainly hope we can do it again. Preferably soon."

Laughing, Teddy assured Dick that he would, scored one last kiss through the window and eventually pulled away, beginning the long drive back to his apartment.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Seven**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**19 Across - Picturesque (7 letters)**_

_**20 Down - Even (5 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	8. A Platinum Zebra

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Eight - A Platinum Zebra_

Teddy and Dick spent an inordinate amount of time texting and calling each other over the next few weeks. In fact, the policeman was one of only five saved contacts in Teddy's phone and the first that he'd actually texted. So he didn't really have any friends but he doubted any former super criminal would. Anonymity was hard to maintain with a conglomerate of other prying individuals.

What really should have been criminal was the purr of Dick's voice and his extensive vocabulary. Words and wit are what Teddy found the most attractive about Dick in the first place and the orgasms he'd achieved just from listening to that sensual voice were still better than pretty much every other sexual experience from his past.

The strange thing about this change in Teddy's life was how much it wasn't unusual. He was used to a solitary existence and had always thought that he wouldn't be able to handle sharing a large portion of his time with one mere individual. He supposed it was working out because Dick was anything but meagre. The hours of conversation between the pair would fly by in a flash and whenever he wasn't talking to or texting the man, he spent the rest of his time thinking about him.

In fact, Teddy found the most challenging part of his daily routine was not thinking about Dick. Luckily he was ahead in his latest issue and only had to add the Clip Art pictures or he'd be hard pressed to complete it on time. Especially since his concentration was pretty much shot nowadays.

Teddy spent at least an hour going through his entire wardrobe before deciding that he owned sweet stuff all. Why didn't he own anything nice for dates? Oh that's right, he's never really dated anyone before. No one had ever captured his attention and held it enough to warrant a date. Today, that would now change. They'd made it official and tonight was their first planned date together.

The crossword compiler made a mad dash to the local department stores and tore through them like a man possessed. At first, he simply couldn't find anything he considered good enough but eventually found an extremely nice lilac shirt and dark grey slacks.

Teddy considered purchasing some kind of bouquet of flowers for Dick but decided not to. That would probably be too much. Instead he settled on a single red rose with a small gold ribbon. That was much better. It was classy.

The pair had decided the night before (after a particularly phenomenal round of phone sex) that they would make a reservation and meet at _Sylvia's_, a rather prestigious restaurant in the heart of Gotham. Usually Teddy wouldn't be caught dead in such a place since it was the kind of locale the rich and famous tended to frequent for exquisite dining and table service but for once, the editor wanted to showcase the absolute stud of a man that he was officially dating.

_Sylvia's_ took up the top five floors of one of the highest skyscrapers in town, with their renowned restaurant on the top floor. It was adorned with a beautiful glass gazebo which would regularly save the wealthy clientele from Gotham's frequent unfavourable weather. The outdoor gardens were well manicured and added a little much-needed nature into the urban setting.

Teddy was shown to his seat by one of the wait staff and he gracefully sat, clutching the rose tightly in his fingers. He couldn't help the feeling of dread that this whole experience was some sort of elaborate hoax to make a fool out of him but in his heart he knew Dick would never do that to anyone. Just as he managed to calm his rapidly beating heart, he heard a soft cough from behind him.

The breath caught in Teddy's chest as he turned and saw Dick. The man clearly knew how to dress well since he had been the first ward of Bruce Wayne. He was garbed in a tight-fitting light blue shirt which brightened his already magnificently ice-coloured eyes. The black slacks fit tightly on his slim hips and matched his ebony tresses, which must have been pulled back since his face was fully visible for a change.

Teddy assumed he'd smiled at his date since he was graced with a dazzling one in return. Dick moved toward him, leant over and pecked him gently on the lips. The crossword compiler was in such a daze that he missed whatever the other said and wordlessly thrust the rose in his direction. Dick's eyes widened and an adorable blush darkened his cheeks.

"Ted. I, I ah, thank you. I've never had anyone do this for me before," the millionaire stuttered out as he stared intently at the flower with a look full of wonder, excitement and astonishment all rolled into one.

Teddy flashed him what he hoped was a winning smile. "No problem, Dick. I was going to buy an elaborate bouquet of snapdragons, gerberas and chrysanthemums to decorate our table with but I thought it might collapse under its immense weight."

Dick laughed as he sat opposite him and carefully laid the rose above his place setting. The gentleness of the action caused a pang of warmth to flood Teddy's heart. It was both a relief and a pleasure to see exactly how much the policeman seemed to treasure the gift.

An older woman dressed in a glittery pink number that would look positively ugly on anyone younger but women of her era can somehow still pull off, walked over to their table with a large smile. "Richard, what a pleasant surprise to see you here," she said genuinely to the man in question.

"You too, Aunty Sylvie. You know I can never stay away from here for too long. How's Uncle Henry going?" he politely inquired.

The woman snorted and waved a hand absently. "My husband's fine but never mind him," she replied as her attention turned to Teddy. "Who's this absolutely delicious man you're here with?" Dick turned an interesting shade of red as Teddy started choking on the sip of water he'd unfortunately just taken.

"My apologies. Sylvia, meet Theodore Zerr. He's the brains behind..." but Dick trailed off as the woman squealed and practically threw herself at his date. Teddy was thankful that he'd just put his glass down before receiving a lapful of pink and sparkly old woman.

"I can't believe it," Sylvia murmured. She kissed the man on the cheek and practically vibrated on the spot. "Just wait right here," she said sternly before hurrying away.

The two men started at each other in surprise. It was Dick who broke the silence. "What the hell just happened? How do you know Sylvia?"

"I, er, I really don't know," stuttered Teddy, who just knew he was looking as shell shocked as he felt.

They continued to trade confused looks until a minute later when they could hear a ruckus from the other side of the room. Sylvia was practically stampeding over the other guests as she moved back toward the couple with a bottle of wine clutched tightly in her grasp. When she finally made it back at their table, she deftly popped the cork and poured the wine into the two appropriate glasses on the table. "I've been saving this for a special occasion. If tonight isn't one, I'll eat my favourite Gucci handbag. Please, drink up!"

The men warily sipped the wine and Dick groaned with approval. Teddy studied the delicious flavour. "This seems familiar," he noted as he took another considering sip. "Star City Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, '69, if I'm not mistaken." At Sylvia's nod, his connection to the woman became clear to him. "Why Mrs Sylvia Moore," he practically crooned as he stole her hand and kissed it. "So this is where you've been hiding in Gotham, accepting my monthly bottles of wine."

Sylvia chuckled with delight. "Young man, I've never had to hide myself. My life is an open book. You however, I've never seen before and considering how successful your publications have become, I'm almost genuinely hurt," she said with clearly fake sadness.

"My apologies, Mrs Moore," smirked Teddy. "I'll ensure that I become one of your regulars to make it up to you."

The woman rolled her eyes which looked extremely odd since she was still sporting a smile. "Please, Theodore, call my Syl and whenever you're here, just tell the wait staff that you're Mr Zebra. You've just been added to my platinum guest list. I've waited ever so long to thank you for the best crossword publication I've ever bought. Please enjoy your evening and it's all on the house." The woman flashed them beaming smile, accepted their thanks and left them to their dinner.

"Mr Zebra?" asked Dick to his date.

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Let's not even pretend that you have no idea what she's on about."

Dick laughed. "Fine, Mr Black and White Crossword Creator. You're definitely one of her favourites now. Only three people I know have the pleasure of calling her Syl."

"Really?" said Teddy with surprise.

"Yeah. Veronica Vreeland, Bruce Wayne and now you," smiled Dick.

"Really?" said Teddy who internally winced at sounding like a broken record. "What about you?"

Dick laughed. "She'll always be Aunty Sylvie to me, no matter how old I get."

The pair then placed their orders and were halfway through their meal when an unwelcome feminine voice pierced the atmosphere. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Unless you want to find out firsthand how painful the Larkspur's toxic venom can be when combined with my own special fertiliser, you'll comply with my demands."

Dick fiddled absently with his wristwatch and looked on in concern. "Poison Ivy? Here, at _Sylvia's_? I can't believe it."

Teddy's heart filled with dread. If the tree-hugging criminal recognised him, it's game over for his fledgling romance.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Eight**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**35 Across - Unattractive (4 letters)**_

_**2 Down - Computer graphic (2 words - 4 & 3 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


	9. Poison Ivy Exposure

Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the cliffie from the last chapter. As per request, I want to let y'all know that I'm going on a brief twelve day holiday to catch up with some old friends of mine. Despite the reprieve, I'm taking my fic work with me and still intend to continue updating a chapter each Monday regardless. Hope you enjoy the next installment!

Cheers, Jace.

* * *

**From Mr E to Mr Z**

_Chapter Nine - Poison Ivy Exposure_

"I'd say that I'm sorry to interrupt your evening but I'm really not," announced Pamela Isley dryly to the gathering of elite Gothamites.

"Yeah!" shrieked the grating voice of Harley Quinn. Teddy felt the entire bottom of his stomach fall out. Poison Ivy always had some kind of ecological goal in mind and as screwed up as her thinking could get, she was in many ways quite reasonable. Harley on the other hand had fallen in love with a psychopath and her understanding of repercussions was unquestionably skewed. He doubted that she could comprehend the meaning of the term collateral damage. Everyone in the room was now liable to lose their lives on account of the jester-clad woman.

"Don't," whispered Teddy to Dick, who looked like he was reaching for a firearm that wasn't even there. An unconscious action if ever there was one.

Dick's eyes flicked from Ivy to his date, who he gave a small nod to, before they returned back to the Eco-terrorist.

"Now, don't all go getting your panties into a bunch," said Harley as she prowled around the room. "We only need one o' ya, don't ya know?"

Poison Ivy rolled her eyes at her accomplice. "Of course they don't know yet, Harl. We haven't told them yet."

"Oh. Sorry Red. I spoiled the surprise," apologised Harley with a flinch. Teddy assumed that it was an automatic reaction as she was used to dealing with the Joker's wrath. "Well, now that the Catwoman's outta the bag, so to speak, we're just looking for someone with a lotta green. And not tree green like Pammy here but money green."

Pamela had moved away from the harlequin and was looking at the manicured shrubs and ferns. "You poor babies, how could someone take a blade to you as if you weren't beautiful enough to start with? What monsters," she seethed quietly to herself as she gently caressed the shrubbery.

There were scared mutterings from Sylvia's clientele as Harley made her way around the room, examining each occupant before moving on. She was nearing Dick's table when Poison Ivy called out, "Found anyone yet, Harl? We need to get a move on before the Bat-freak makes another one of his unwanted appearances."

"Not yet, Red. They're all small fish so far but don't ya worry, I'll find one yet," she called back cheerfully. Teddy could hear the soft jingling of bells and knew she was standing right behind him. "Hey, don't I know you?" Harley thought aloud and Teddy couldn't help tensing his body. Had she found him out? "Hey Ivy, isn't that one of Bruce Wayne's brats?"

There were hurried footsteps in Dick and Teddy's direction and the woman stopped by Teddy's shoulder. "Why yes, Harl, you're right. Richard Grayson, police officer of Blüdhaven," she spat, as if being a cop was more offensive than cutting down a tree. She raised her voice so everyone could hear. "Alright, the rest of you are free to go," she said sweetly but when no one moved, she yelled, "NOW!" and there was a stampede for the exit.

There were some screams as the elevator opened and Teddy could just see the explosives planted inside when the patrons ran as far away from the bombs as they could. "Oh goodie," came the delightfully cheerful voice of Harley, "It looks like they found our going away present."

Poison Ivy ignored her companion and was staring with disgust at the rose on the table. She picked it up and Teddy had to fight the strong urge to bitch-slap her for even thinking about touching it. She gently petted the petals and sniffed deeply. "You poor baby, plucked at the height of your life," her voice started to harden, "for some imbecile to kill you as a sacrificial offering of love." She drew out the word love as if it were more venomous than herself.

Teddy couldn't help it. He rose angrily to his feet, his chair scraping loudly behind him and ignored the loud thump of Harley who he'd accidentally knocked over in the process. Not only had the bitch taken Dick's rose, she'd called himself an imbecile. The smartest man in Gotham an imbecile? HELL FUCKING NO! "If you have a problem with the collection of flowers, take your complaints up with a florist. I hate to break it to you, Poison Ivy, but flowers are incapable of having feelings. They do not scream, speak or feel. They only exist so why don't you shut the fuck up?"

Although Teddy knew he'd probably just signed his death warrant by yelling at a woman more toxic than a nuclear waste dump and inadvertently knocking the other psycho over, he couldn't help but take sadistic pleasure in the overt look of absolute shock on Ivy's face. Her mouth fell open and she gazed at him in horror.

The moment wore off and Ivy's expression morphed to rage. "How dare you!" she shrieked. "Only one other man had the gall to tell me that and he's dead."

"Not by your hand," Teddy sniffed disdainfully but he froze and his eyes widened fractionally. He'd given away the whole game. He looked at Dick who still looked completely confused. As did Ivy and Harley, who had crawled her way over to Ivy's side and was now standing next to her. He heaved an internal sigh of relief. That was too close.

Ivy's eyebrows furrowed further, "How could you possibly know that? Unless..." she trailed off as a contemplative look took over. She leant forward and stared intently at Teddy's face and he saw the moment of realisation on hers. He begged her silence with his eyes but the cruel smirk she wore soon quashed his hope. "Edward Nygma, you're still alive!"

"Eddie?" gasped Harley with surprise before she launched herself at Teddy. She landed in his lap and gave him a big smooch on the lips. "You didn't die! I'm so happy for you although it's been really nice not hearing all of your stupid riddles every time ole Batsy sent you back to Arkham. They never made sense."

Teddy grunted, "They always made sense, it's not my fault you're dumber than a circus monkey." He shut his mouth quickly and slapped a hand over it. Not only had he given himself away but he'd confirmed it. How stupid could he get? Although he really didn't want to, he turned his attention to Dick. The officer was staring at him with absolute revulsion. "Dick, I can explain..." he started but the man rose to his feet, pushed Harley off his lap and punched him in the face. Hard.

"How dare you!" Dick seethed as he unconsciously mimicked Ivy's earlier words. "What the hell are you up to? You knew I was rich so what? You were going to seduce it out of me like some kind of gold-digger?"

"That's not it at all, I..." began Teddy but he was interrupted by an irate Harley.

"HEY, hand's off the merchandise, toots," she spat as she rose to her feet and threw a punch at Dick which he evaded.

Poison Ivy snorted. "I don't think he wants to put his hands anywhere on you, Harl. He wants to drag them all over the Riddler here."

"WHAT?" shrieked Harley.

Rolling her eyes at the woman, Ivy said, "A nice dinner and a red rose? Clearly they were on a date. Emphasis on were. Sorry if we ruined your plan Eddie. We didn't know." She actually sounded apologetic which Teddy might have found touching if he weren't so damn furious.

"THERE WAS NO FUCKING PLAN," he shouted. "Why else would I fake my own death? I just wanted a normal life and for once I was actually happy." He turned his eyes on the still suspicious Dick. "But clearly I was not meant to be happy," he muttered, feeling tears starting to fill his eyes. How could this one man make him react like this? It made no sense. He was supposed to be smarter than this.

Dick opened his mouth to reply in some way but a shattered window drew the four's attention to the roof where Batman and Batgirl were gracefully falling to the floor.

"I've heard enough. The reunion's over," ground out the Dark Knight. He menacingly strode toward them. "The three of you are coming with me."

Harley pulled out one of her pop guns and shot at him but Batman easily sidestepped the blast. Ivy had already made a run for the side of the building but found Batgirl blocking her way. The four began fighting in earnest as Teddy moved to Dick's side. "Dick, I..." he started.

"I don't want to hear it," snarked out the policeman coolly. "I can't believe I was so stupid."

"No it's not..." Teddy tried again.

"Shut up, Nygma," Dick spat. He looked Teddy in the eyes and the lack of warmth in them was something Teddy never wanted to see again. "Whatever this was, is over." He stood and walked away from the table leaving the still shocked Riddler in his wake.

Teddy sat down heavily in his seat. The sounds of battle dimmed as his mind tried to comprehend the complete mess he'd made of things.

"Nygma, make it easy on yourself and put these on," said Batman harshly as he threw a pair of bat-cuffs onto the table in front of him.

Teddy looked up at the Batman with a surprised expression. "But, but I didn't do anything!" he said, hoping the Dark Knight didn't notice his tears.

"You were found at the scene of the crime with two well-known villains. If I recall correctly, you used to get on rather well with them in the past. Tell me, what does it look like to you?"

"I, er..." stuttered Eddie but another voice overrode his.

"He had nothing to do with it, Batman," a calm feminine voice said from behind him.

"Mrs Moore, I have to..." began the Batman.

"You have to do nothing," spat the older woman. "I vouch for him. He's a very special guest of mine and had absolutely nothing to do with the shenanigans. In fact, I would appreciate it if you would turn your attention to the bomb in my elevator which could go off at any moment and leave my guests alone." Sylvia stared evenly at the Dark Knight who looked expressionlessly back.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Nygma," he muttered before dramatically moving toward the lift.

Teddy couldn't care less. The one thing he thought was going well in his life was now gone.

* * *

_**The Terrible Tease Clues - Chapter Nine**_

_Teddy is a very clever genius. Two of the words from the chapter above are actually answers to Teddy's latest Terrible Tease crossword puzzle. Here they are now!_

_**34 Across - Not concealed (5 letters)**_

_**22 Down - Nonflowering plants (5 letters)**_

_Print out the blank crossword at the web address below and start to fill it in. It's actually quite important to the storyline in later chapters. Teddy would be ecstatic to know that fanfic readers can be just as intelligent as he!_

www dot 123rf dot com / photo_12374852_empty-crossword-grid dot html

_Just make sure to remove the spaces and_ _replace each dot with a full stop._


End file.
